{"id":204,"date":"2023-03-28T09:54:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T09:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westhillsfredericton.ca\/golf\/?p=204"},"modified":"2023-06-06T12:01:44","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T15:01:44","slug":"blog-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westhillsfredericton.ca\/golf\/blog\/2023\/03\/28\/blog-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Bunker 101"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In the recent months West Hills surveyed the members about the condition of the golf course and 20% respondents replied with comments discussing the bunkers, specifically the quality. This is a large percentage that obviously demands a response and discussion. Its a pretty big topic that has a lot of detail to cover. I think the best way to approach the discussion is to use some of the comments from the survey to provide backstory, clear up some miss-information and perhaps educate about what is involved in bunker care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some quotes from the survey that represent the dynamic breadth of ideas regarding the bunkers. I’ve omitted any names from the comments, so as to keep the opinions confidential. I would remind everyone that the goal of this is not prove people wrong but rather provide a transparent understanding of where we are and where we are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/span>“Bunkers. Do we need the tarp underneath? What would be the issue with removing it?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Great question. The bunker liner is there to prevent the material from beneath contaminating the bunker sand. The rocks, silt and clay can be pushed up by frost, washed into the sand and eventually find its way on to the green, which would be bad news for putting and for our greens mowers. The fabric is a geotextile membrane that will allow water to pass though but not material. It comes in a 14 foot roll and is layered like roofing shingles from the low point of the bunker to the high points. These sheets are held in place with 6 inch steel staples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bunkers are West Hills are designed with two main things in mind. The location\/playability, and the aesthetics of the bunker as it fits into the surrounding. The bunkers are hazards and so they are placed with the intent to penalize poor shots or create a higher degree of difficulty. The shape of the bunkers, with the “flashings” (the near vertical walls), are designed to increase the visibility with in the structure of the hole and present a “look”. Keeping the sand on these flashings can be difficult during large rain events, but without the liners the material beneath would erode and corrupt the sand in the bunker. So while they are a pain, they are indeed necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/span>“Some of the Bunkers could be removed since the rainfall appears to significantly impact their condition. Often the underlay material is exposed, and the Sand ends up too thin in areas of the Bunkers. Many players do NOT rake the Bunkers and ends up penalizing the next player.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/span>\u201cAnother thing that I’ve heard others mention, but I personally never found an issue was that the Bunkers were shallow and others were hitting the black felt underneath the Sand. I understand we had heavy and frequent rain this summer which likely played a factor but maybe Bunkers need more Sand? I don’t know though\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
These two statements above are somewhat accurate. Rainfall definitely has an immense impact on the bunkers, especially with the high flashings. It is common to have the sand move from higher location to lower location. This year we had five major rain events over 40mm, each of these would have resulted in a complete rebuild of the traps. In such cases, it takes about two days and four or five staff to push the sand back into place and then another day or so for it to dry enough to make it playable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two photos below are of the fairway trap on 15 and the green side trap on number one. These photos were taken after the course had closed. You can see where the sand moves with the water, from high points to where it eventually settles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one point we were debating reducing the flashing on the traps to lessen the run off. We painted a new with the red paint, lower in height and less likely to erode, but the change in shape would affect the overall aesthetics and we decided against that option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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